Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about biodiversity and the hidden quirks of the natural world. With each fern no wider than an inch, mosquito ferns turned ...

If you ever watch a duck float across a pond, gobbling up the vegetation coating the surface, that bird is way ahead of its time. The buoyant greenery is azolla, a tiny fern that grows like crazy, ...

Native to the eastern U.S., Carolina azolla holds excellent potential for use as a fast-growing, short-season crop that requires minimal inputs, upkeep and processing, according to Penn State ...